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| Johnson Tucker Beasley circa 1948. |
 Grandfather
Beasley was a carpenter and farmer, and served with the famous
regiment of Col. Mosby in the Civil War. |
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The Beazleys were Virginians deeply rooted in the traditions of the Southern
plantation system. According to the Federal census, in 1810 Ephraim Beazley
of Essex County had 72 slaves. Also in 1810 in Spotsylvania County, Winnifred
Beazley had 34, William Beazley eight, Henry Beazley five, and Ephraim
Beazley fourteen slaves. These Spotsylvania County family members were
all enumerated on the same page in the census, so we can assume they were
also neighbors.
William Beazley, my fouth great-grandfather, did something quite unusual
in his day. In his will he speciifed,
... it is my desire that the
following children (who are children of my negro woman Nully) named
[?], Job, Joel, Frederick, Elza, Moriah and Jane be kept and raised
among my children until [?] at age the boys 21 and the girls 18 at
which
time they are to be emancipated.
We can only guess as to William's real motivations.
The following paragraphs about the Beasley clan were written by my grandfather,
Johnson Tucker Beasley, whom I never knew. It is a record of his thoughts
on the origins of his family. He was a bit of a family history buff and
recorded quite a few names and dates that have been of help to me. He
wrote:
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The Beasley family circa 1898. Rear (L-R): Father
Luther Beasley, Johnson, Mattie (the mother) holding Kitty, and
Beulah. Front row: Felix, Frances, Ruth, and Guy. Taken in Lexington,
Illinois. |
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| Taken circa 1901, the Beasley children are (L-R)
Felix, Beulah, Frances, Johnson, Kitty, Guy, Ruth. |
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| The Luther Beasley family in 1914. Rear (L-R):
Ruth, Felix, Johnson, Frances, Guy, Beulah. Front row: Luther, Kitty,
Mattie. |
"Probably the best and most accurate information I secured is from
the records of Spotsylvania County, Va., which is adjacent to Culpepper
County, Va., where my father was born. No doubt, we are of the same tribe
of Beasleys."
It appears that these Beasleys may have been some of the leading citizens
although my deductions are based entirely on the numerous deeds recorded
in the County Courthouse, not only of land, but other goods and chattels,
not to mention slaves.
Thanks to information provided by Kenneth Young and Lesley Carter, we've
updated the Beasley family history with the latest information on Ephraim
Beazley and his descendants, pushing what information we have back 115
years.
"The earliest record here is in 1759, when John Beasley of the Caroline
Co. sold 100 acres of land to Charles Beasley. On May 5, 1760, Charles
and his wife, Susanna, sold 100 acres to Charles Curtis of 35 Shillings.
Charles Beasley, it seems, was active in buying and selling farms and
in the next 25 years, many similar transactions are noted in the record.
Two sons are also mentioned, Charles Beasley, Jr., and Henry Beasley."
"Ephraim Beasley first appears in the record April 6, 1761, as an
overseer on the estate of Beverly Stanard. In 1763, he began buying land,
and many transactions appear under his name, such as buying and selling
farms, negro slaves, and tobacco. Evidently, Ephraim was the most affluent
Beasley in this section."
"Little is known of my immediate Beasley family, but no doubt, more
information is available in the records of Culpepper County, Va. Grandfather
[Thomas Wesley] Beasley was a carpenter and farmer, and served with the
famous regiment of Col. Mosby in the Civil War. Several books have been
printed on Col. Mosby and his "guerilla band" who were feared
and respected by the Northern Armies. The Beasley family home was located
at Brandy
Station  ,
Va."
We have found evidence to support the thesis that Ephraim Beazley was
Johnson's great--grandfather. However, no records have been found to substantiate
the claim that Thomas Beasley fought with Col. Mosby's Confederate Army
"guerilla band", the 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry Partisan
Rangers. They did fight at Brandy Station,
so it is entirely possible that Thomas Beasley joined Mosby's Battalion
while it was in the area.
There are a large number of Beasley's and an almost equally large number
of ways to spell the name: Beezly, Beazly, Beezly, Beazley, etc. Both
black and white people carry the surname, so perhaps the blacks were given
the name of their white slaveowners at some point.
Beasley RootsWeb Email List
To subscribe, send a message to  BEASLEY-L-request@rootsweb.com.
In the BODY of the message, enter the command "subscribe" (without the
quotes). You will receive in response instructions on how to participate
in the exchange of Beasley-related genealogy information.
Related Web Sites
Descendants
of Ephraim Beazley
Beasley Family
Association
Founding
Florida Pioneers & Their Descendants
Descendants of William Beasley II of Lancasterhire England
Beasley & Bates
Descendants of John Pitts Beasley of Tennessee
Contributors
Our thanks to cousins Kenneth
Young, Lesley
Carter , and Mac
Crawford for their contributions to the record of the Beasleys
or Beazleys. Kenneth, from Salt Lake, established a link back a generation
for us that was a critical missing link. Lesley, close by Virginia in Maryland,
has been a valuable hands-on researcher. Mac has hit the census and is looking
up info on the families' whereabouts.
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